Gen. Diff. Q!

[marko]

can anyone tell me how it is supposed to feel when your diff starts going south?? does it just seize @ once, or does it progressively get worse (intermitent lack of pull / general 'hick up' feel)?? :confused:

[larryn]

Based on what's going wrong with it, it can grind, clunk, whir, or slip. The teeth can wear down on the gearing or teeth can grind or break off.

Intermittant lack of pull is usually caused by transmission/clutch/torque converter (for auto trannys) problems.

[marko]

my car seems to 'cut out' briefly from time to time... never @ idle, but always under load, and generally on the highway (manual trans).

thought it was electrical, so I got new wires, plugs, coil - same sh!t.

thoght it may be fuel filter - changed it - still to no avail (even added about 2gallons of Techron)

as a side issue - had a trac. control light on for some time now ( TC works no longer), so since I was running out of options, I thought it may be diff failure (light & all)..

dont know, just reaching I guess...

Based on what's going wrong with it, it can grind, clunk, whir, or slip. The teeth can wear down on the gearing or teeth can grind or break off.

Intermittant lack of pull is usually caused by transmission/clutch/torque converter (for auto trannys) problems.

[larryn]

Hmmm ASC light comes on. There may be a problem there, where the system is thinking you're losing traction and retarding the throttle. It would explain your accelleration loss. If that's the case, it could be an ABS sensor is incorrectly aligned or intermittantly non-functional.

You should be able to tell if it is related to that by keeping an eye on the RPMs while this is happening. If the RPMs drop, it is likely the ASC/ABS issue. If your RPMs increase, due to the differential slipping, you'll see that too.

So, it may be electrical, given that ASC info.

[marko]

ok, so at least that'll give me some to look for... thx.

when the gremlins come, car starts cutting off, & the RPMs definately do not go up (so probably no diff problem)... in fact, the car sounds as if someone has it 'by the throat' - deeper exhaust note / total lack of pull no matter how much you squeeze the throtle (RPMs hardly go up IF ANY despite being floored) / definite jerking motion / & it all goes away after a few moments... + ASC light is on from the moment you turn on the car till you shut it off (no traction control at any speed or condition), but the ABS do work just fine. a perplexing & bizzare thing...


Hmmm ASC light comes on. There may be a problem there, where the system is thinking you're losing traction and retarding the throttle. It would explain your accelleration loss. If that's the case, it could be an ABS sensor is incorrectly aligned or intermittantly non-functional.

You should be able to tell if it is related to that by keeping an eye on the RPMs while this is happening. If the RPMs drop, it is likely the ASC/ABS issue. If your RPMs increase, due to the differential slipping, you'll see that too.

So, it may be electrical, given that ASC info.